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DuPage Forest Blog

Read the latest blog story from the Forest Preserve District, and connect to nature in DuPage.

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June 14, 2021

Hidden History of Hidden Lake Bridge

Keith McClow

On a breezy May afternoon, I stood on an old bridge that spans the East Branch DuPage River at Hidden Lake Forest Preserve in Downers Grove, talking to people as they crossed the...

June 2, 2021

Hidden History of Glacial Ridge

Dave Andrusyk

Churchill Woods Forest Preserve in Glen Ellyn is one of the DuPage Forest Preserve District’s most popular forest preserves.

May 20, 2021

Managing Harmful Algae Blooms

Dan Grigas

Harmful blue-green algae blooms have become an all-too-common occurrence on some forest preserve lakes lately. 

May 10, 2021

More Love for Monarch Butterflies

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

The DuPage Forest Preserve District board of commissioners is pledging to support the Illinois Monarch Project, a public and private sector partnership whose goal is to add 150...

April 20, 2021

The Hidden History of Fullersburg Woods

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

When you visit a DuPage forest preserve to connect with nature, you don’t often consider its history and how it came to be developed as a preserve.

April 16, 2021

Reminder Not to Harvest Plants in the Preserves

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

As more plants and mushrooms emerge in the spring, it’s a good time to remind visitors not to harvest things — especially wild leeks and mushrooms — from DuPage forest preserves.

April 9, 2021

Partnership Mussels Into Chicago River

Scott Meister

The DuPage Forest Preserve District recently embarked on a new and unique partnership with Urban Rivers, a nonprofit organization based in Chicago with a mission to transform city...

March 31, 2021

I Spy Early Spring Insects

Andres Ortega

The warmer weather brings more people outside after a long, cold winter. But they’re not the only ones that emerge with the warmer temperatures.

March 25, 2021

Stressed Out? We've Got Just the Thing

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Still recovering from 2020? If you’re like most people, the stress of the pandemic, working from home and e-learning has taken its toll.

March 17, 2021

The Hidden History of Winfield Mounds

Jordan Countryman

With the passage of time, nature disguises the land’s cultural legacy, covering the marks of human impact and often protecting the past with brush and vegetation, but this can...

March 10, 2021

Soak in the Solar

Dave Andrusyk

As we celebrate International Solar Appreciation Day on Thursday, March 10, let’s look at the many ways we benefit from the sun and how we can harness its energy to help create...

March 9, 2021

Owl's Story Tugs at Donor's Heartstrings

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Sandy Youngstrom of Naperville is a wildlife enthusiast who not only enjoys bringing birds, insects and mammals to her own backyard but also supporting wild animals in her...

February 24, 2021

Tales as Old as Time

Nate Hambel

“Never forget the trail, look ever for the track in the snow; it is the priceless, unimpeachable record of the creature's life and thought, in the oldest writing known on the...

February 19, 2021

The Hidden History of Hidden Lake

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Relics of the former lives of DuPage forest preserves are often hidden in plain sight, but without context they have no meaning.

February 5, 2021

Nature's Valentines

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Valentine’s Day is a day we celebrate relationships but even more than that, it is a day to celebrate love.

January 6, 2021

Engineer Devises System to Stop Zebra Mussel Spread

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

A longtime battle to keep invasive zebra mussels in the West Branch Forest Preserve’s Deep Quarry Lake in Bartlett from spreading to the adjacent West Branch DuPage River took an...

December 15, 2020

Start a New Chapter with Mayslake Book Club

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Explore nature, art and history as it relates to the natural world with Mayslake's “Nature Art & Culture Peabody’s Pages Book Club Three-Part Discussion,” which starts its second...

December 2, 2020

As the Seasons Change: A Soil Opera

Stephanie Touzalin

Soil. Mud. Dirt. Earth. That stuff on the ground that’s always been there and always looks pretty much the same. Not too much happening down there, right? Wrong.

November 24, 2020

What Do Bees Do in the Winter?

Charlie Linnell and Duane Marski

One of the more frequent questions we beekeepers are asked is “What do bees do in the winter?”

November 17, 2020

Six Hiking Essentials

Dave Andrusyk

Whether you’re new to hiking or a regular walker on DuPage forest preserve’s 166 miles of trails, there are at least 6 essentials you should bring with you every time you head out...

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